A single, rural mama's ramblings about parenting boys, finding herself (oh brother), struggle and joy, juggling more jobs than you can shake a stick at, creativity as we attempt to not only survive but somehow live a fulfilling and rich life below the poverty line, humor as a coping mechanism when you'd be a basket case otherwise, and all the beauty that IS.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Bookworms

As Fall closes in on us, and the darkness comes earlier, we've upped our reading time, all cozied up on the couch with cocoa and graham crackers. Eli can read like no body's business now, (I often catch him with a flashlight under the covers when he's supposed to be asleep) but still loves to be read TO. And Ira would listen for hours on end if you let him. Trying to think back to what we've enjoyed this summer...We made it through most of the "Little House" series, with "Farmer Boy" being the kids favorite. (They started to become less interested in the main characters as they approached adulthood, so we'll leave those final books for later.) We did "Stewart Little", "Black Beauty" and "The Indian In The Cupboard" (They LOVED that one). "Charlotte's Web" they adored although they were understandably upset when the spider died and Ira won't eat ham now. (Which is fine by me, we rarely eat meat anyhow.) But their all-time TOP book, the one I was begged to keep reading, and the second we finished, they wanted to start it over again, was: "The Trolley Car Family." I always get a secret thrill when they love something that I loved... that book was one of MY childhood favorites. We'll crack open "The Secret Garden" tonight at bedtime, or if this rain keeps up, we might start in while we have our after school snack. I am more than happy to revisit all the stories that were so special to me once upon a time, and it's interesting to see the different things the boys pick out to ponder. I tend to censor small bits when we read, because Ira especially is so sensitive in certain areas. Eli has his touchy spots too, of course, and it's trickier now that he follows along with me and breaks in with: "You missed a part, Mom!" Little Smarty Pants.